Gold Bear

Steep rooflines, warm wood siding, and a stone chimney running the full height of the house --- Gold Bear looks like exactly what you drove up the mountain for. Inside, it opens all at once. The great room climbs to a vaulted, open-beam ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows take up most of one wall, and the pines outside handle the rest of the decorating. There's real seating for everyone, which matters in a house this size.

The kitchen sits open to the whole floor, fully equipped and built for actual cooking rather than reheating, with a long counter and stools where people end up whether or not they're helping. Dinner happens at a table for eight, and the sliding glass doors just beyond it mean the deck becomes part of the room the moment the weather cooperates. A loft upstairs gives the second wave somewhere to spread out with a book or a laptop.

Six bedrooms are spread across the floors, so the group can be together without being on top of each other. Two are king rooms, three hold queens, and one is set up with a pair of twins for the kids --- or for whoever claims it first. Four full bathrooms keep the morning rush from ever really becoming a rush.

Downstairs is where the house earns its keep on a storm day. The media room has a big screen, seating built for sinking into, and a snack counter of its own --- start something after dinner and half the group won't resurface until the credits. Board games are stacked and ready for the nights nobody wants a screen at all. Two full sets of washers and dryers handle the wet gear of a full house, which anyone who has traveled with a single machine will appreciate.

Outside, the deck runs long across the back. The hot tub sits out there with nothing but trees around it, steam lifting into cold air while the sky goes dark above the treeline. There's a grill for the nights nobody wants to cook indoors, and a shaded table set up for the kind of dinners that stretch past sunset once summer arrives.

The location is the quiet advantage. The home sits inside the Northstar community, which puts the lifts, the ice rink, and the Village's restaurants and shops minutes away instead of a drive down the mountain. Northstar's golf course and its trail network are close by, and the bike park runs all summer. Historic Downtown Truckee --- train-town main street, good dinners, shops worth an afternoon --- is about fifteen minutes out. Push a little farther and you're at Lake Tahoe's north shore beaches in Kings Beach, or over at Donner Lake and its state park on the other side of town. Palisades Tahoe is roughly half an hour if you want a second mountain, and Reno-Tahoe airport is under an hour, which makes a long weekend here easier than it has any right to be.

Come for the powder or come for the long summer light. Either way the ending is the same: everyone out on the deck, the hot tub going, and nobody in a hurry to head inside.

AvantStay provides a personalized hospitality experience to elevate your stay. With our Concierge Service, guests have access to our tech-enabled services like fridge stocking, private chefs, massages, transportation, special occasion celebrations, baby gear rentals, ski gear, beach gear, and more. For anything you need, we're at your fingertips via concierge@avantstay.com.

Situated in the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountain range straddling the border between California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe offers stunning panoramic scenery and year-round adventure. Visitors flock here, especially to ski and snowboard on dramatic slopes that seem to fall into the abyss of the lake's cobalt-blue water. Whether you're looking for a day in the mountains or a booze cruise on the lake, you can have it all in Tahoe.

Local Attractions: Swimming and boating on Donner Lake, Palisades Tahoe, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, Tahoe Whitewater Tours, horse trail rides at Piping Rock Horses, access to hiking and biking trails, Coyote Moon, and Downtown Truckee for shopping and restaurants.

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All bookings over 30 days require a security deposit to be charged after booking.

STR23-8473